{"id":35273,"date":"2024-08-14T10:13:05","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T14:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eng.ufl.edu\/newengineer\/?p=35273"},"modified":"2025-06-11T12:26:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T17:26:57","slug":"30-years-of-stepup-a-launchpad-for-aspiring-engineers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eng.ufl.edu\/news\/engineering-education\/30-years-of-stepup-a-launchpad-for-aspiring-engineers\/","title":{"rendered":"30 years of STEPUP: A “launchpad for aspiring engineers”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
It is hard to imagine now, but Nigel Davis was a quaking bundle of nerves heading into his freshman year at the University of Florida in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn’t know many people, and I knew that engineering was a very rigorous major,\u201d he said. \u201cI remember just feeling apprehensive about what to expect in making the large leap from high school to college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then he heard about STEPUP, a high-intensity summer readiness program for incoming UF Engineering freshmen. It was a game-changer. \u201cSTEPUP made that leap feel much smaller. It was instrumental in shaping my academic journey and future career. The summer courses provided a crucial head start, easing my transition into a rigorous collegiate engineering curriculum,\u201d noted Davis, a former Microsoft software engineer and current law school student at University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Short for Successful Transition and Enhanced Preparation for Undergraduates program, STEPUP celebrated its 30th anniversary this summer, reveling in the success of more than 800 STEPUP alumni. The 30th class of about 50 incoming freshmen completed its stint in July, heading home after six weeks of college courses, candid conversations, early morning busses, wee-hours returns, team building and a deep dive into all things Gator Nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The reason for STEPUP’s success is the community of people behind it.”<\/p>Pamela Dickrell, Ph.D., Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering’s associate dean of student affairs<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStudents gain skills to perform undergraduate research, have math and science reviews to help them be successful in their fall courses, take a design course where they build prototypes as a team, and learn about engineering student organizations,” said Pamela Dickrell, Ph.D., Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering\u2019s associate dean of student affairs. \u201cWith the help of STEPUP peer mentors, students have six weeks of guided knowledge about campus life, dorms, dining halls, libraries, makerspaces, recreational facilities, and the larger Gainesville community. This leads to increased professional development and retention of our first-year engineering students who participate in STEPUP.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year\u2019s schedule included workshops in calculus, chemistry, physics, NVIDIA AI and research. The students toured JMJ Group Engineering, Pursuit Aerospace, Motorola, Ford, Chen Moore Associate, EAC and, of course, UF labs. They listened to STEPUP alumni, took engineering classes, earned credit hours and participated in the Women of Engineering speaker series.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nJonathan Earle, Ph.D., the creator of STEPUP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\u201cOn Fridays, we loaded up the buses to see engineering in action,\u201d said Stephen Roberts, director of the Office of Student Transition and Retention, which oversees STEPUP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the changes within 30 years, Roberts said, was incorporating ala carte curriculum options for students. They are advised to pick options that allow them to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is what professionals do,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cThey self-assess. Where do I need to grow? Where do I need additional training? We\u2019re trying to get them into that mindset from day one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Roberts took over the program on 2005 from his mentor, Jonathan Earle, Ph.D., who died in 2022 after serving as the College of Engineering\u2019s associate dean until 2007. That same year, President George W. Bush presented Earle the National Science Foundation Presidential Award of Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earle came to UF from Jamaica \u201cfor the specific purpose of getting a Ph.D. and going back to Jamaica,\u201d Roberts said. But while he was at UF, he noticed many underrepresented students were not making it through the Engineering program. They just couldn\u2019t cut it, faculty would say,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDr. Earle said, \u2018I refuse to believe that. I think with the proper transition, if the students put in the work, any student can become an engineer.\u2019 And that\u2019s why he created STEPUP. It was to facilitate the successful transition into the University of Florida,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The program is now open to all incoming UF Engineering students. In 30 years, STEPUP has significantly increased student retention rates in Engineering, Roberts said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSTEPUP’s framework developed crucial time-management and study skills that have served me well beyond college,\u201d Davis said. \u201cSTEPUP didn’t just prepare me for college, it set the stage for my entire professional journey. Its holistic approach creates a powerful launchpad for aspiring engineers.”<\/p>\n\n\n
\nAn incoming Engineering student and STEPUP participant looks at one of the vehicles in UF\u2019s motorsports garage in July. (Photo by Dave Schlenker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Nine years after Davis stepped out of STEPUP \u2013 and 30 years since its inception \u2013 the program continues that holistic approach to enhance academic, emotional and cultural readiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSTEPUP was a fantastic experience,\u201d said Lakeland resident and incoming freshman Landry Mooney, who attended this summer\u2019s session. \u201cI experienced many great things, including the corporate speaker series and the corporate tours. The different courses gave much insight into what the future at the University of Florida will hold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe reason for STEPUP’s success is the community of people behind it,\u201d added Dickrell. \u201cThe program has a strong group of supporters and alumni who believe in the mission of preparing engineering students for success at UF. The community of peers that students gain from participation provides a support structure, both academically and socially, from their time as students into their professional careers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In three decades, STEPUP (Successful Transition and Enhanced Preparation for Undergraduates Program) has helped set up more than 800 engineering alumni for college success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2592,"featured_media":35279,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-templates\/single-sidebar-none.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"featured_post":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[25,35,57],"tags":[357],"class_list":["post-35273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-engineering-education","category-featured","category-stories","tag-stepup"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
30 years of STEPUP: A "launchpad for aspiring engineers" - News from Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eng.ufl.edu\/news\/engineering-education\/30-years-of-stepup-a-launchpad-for-aspiring-engineers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"30 years of STEPUP: A "launchpad for aspiring engineers" - News from Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In three decades, STEPUP (Successful Transition and Enhanced Preparation for Undergraduates Program) has helped set up more than 800 engineering alumni for college success.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.eng.ufl.edu\/news\/engineering-education\/30-years-of-stepup-a-launchpad-for-aspiring-engineers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News from Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UFWertheim\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-14T14:13:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-11T17:26:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.eng.ufl.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/249\/2024\/08\/StepUp_1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tehranipoor,Maryam\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ufwertheim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ufwertheim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tehranipoor,Maryam\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.eng.ufl.edu\\\/news\\\/engineering-education\\\/30-years-of-stepup-a-launchpad-for-aspiring-engineers\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.eng.ufl.edu\\\/news\\\/engineering-education\\\/30-years-of-stepup-a-launchpad-for-aspiring-engineers\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tehranipoor,Maryam\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.eng.ufl.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/78c848a15749ce5dfed2e25822445bc4\"},\"headline\":\"30 years of STEPUP: A “launchpad for aspiring engineers”\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-14T14:13:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-11T17:26:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.eng.ufl.edu\\\/news\\\/engineering-education\\\/30-years-of-stepup-a-launchpad-for-aspiring-engineers\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":862,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.eng.ufl.edu\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.eng.ufl.edu\\\/news\\\/engineering-education\\\/30-years-of-stepup-a-launchpad-for-aspiring-engineers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.eng.ufl.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/249\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/StepUp_1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"STEPUP\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Engineering Education\",\"Featured\",\"Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.eng.ufl.edu\\\/news\\\/engineering-education\\\/30-years-of-stepup-a-launchpad-for-aspiring-engineers\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.eng.ufl.edu\\\/news\\\/engineering-education\\\/30-years-of-stepup-a-launchpad-for-aspiring-engineers\\\/\",\"name\":\"30 years of STEPUP: A \\\"launchpad for aspiring engineers\\\" - 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